


Love Between the Living and Dead

by kittyface27



Category: One Piece
Genre: Already dead, Anime, Drama, Love, M/M, One Piece - Freeform, Paranormal, Romance, Some Fluff, Supernatural - Freeform, ghost - Freeform, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-05 05:52:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14037567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: Luffy died fifty years ago, and doesn't know why he's still here. Alone and invisible to all. Until Zoro, a living person, finally sees him. Romance ensues. Can they love each other when the two of them are so different? ZoLu M to be safe near the end. Drama involved.





	1. Meeting in the Park

At the local national park running through a certain city, a small car was decimated by a large truck that had a drunk driver behind the wheel, sending the car tumbling over and over into the trees, killing both parents and two of the three children in it. The family driving said car were almost all killed instantly. One was thrown through the window and bled out of the pavement a few yards from where the car ended up stopping. His family had all moved on to wherever you go after death, but the small teenager got lost. He didn’t know where to go. Had he been with his family, maybe he’d have found where to go, but he wasn’t that lucky. He saw their dead bodies, all bloody and broken in the crunched up car resting on its side. 

The lonely teen’s name was Luffy, and that’s all he can remember about himself. He recognized that the car’s passengers were his family, but he didn’t remember anything about them, who he was, or his past. He had nowhere to go. So he stayed in that park, sometimes wandering around, having memorized his home, but most times he sat on the lawn at the entrance of the park, hoping someday he’d find out where to go. That was fifty years ago. 

It didn’t feel that long to Luffy. Time flew by, even though every day was lonely. He waited on that lawn, watching people go by, through the decades seeing style and technology change. How people treated each other changed as well. The park visitors became ruder and more disrespectful, being mean to each other and ignoring their friends as they looked at the shiny boxes carried in their hands. It was strange, but fascinating at the same time. 

He had learned long ago no one could see or hear him, and he’d walk right through them. That first day was terrifying. Not only was his family dead, but none of the onlookers or medical people answered his questions. He thought they were ignoring him until his hand passed through one of the medics, causing pain to race through his hand. He didn’t run. He wanted to, but he was afraid he’d get lost. So he stayed on that lawn and watched as the accident was cleaned up. He had seen his own body, as bloody and broken as the rest of his family. The glass was stuck in his skin, and blood pooled around the still body. His plain black shirt and red shorts were torn to shreds. He was glad he didn’t look like that as a ghost forever. He was clean, the only thing out of place was his messy black hair. 

Luffy didn’t like to think of himself as a ghost, but that’s what he was. But they were always seen as scary. Luffy didn’t see himself as scary. He never did anything to anyone. He’d just watch and wait for however long it would take to be led somewhere by something, to the afterlife he liked to think of. He wasn’t a very religious person but there weren’t any other people like him, invisible and lonely. Surely if it had happened to others, there’d be more like him. He would have been able to tell because he glowed faintly. Not too brightly, but enough to be a bit different by those who were still alive. It could only be seen at night.

He wanted food desperately, and though he couldn’t physically get hungry or thirsty, he craved to devour the picnic baskets that were brought with couples or friends and family on their blankets. 

He also longed to touch dogs. They pranced and ran right next to him, but he was unable to interact with them. There were certain people he recognized, the ones that came to the park routinely. They were runners, or dog walkers. Some came to read, others had gatherings with their friends. They did homework or just talked. He wished he could go to school. 

Now that he was dead and alone, he couldn’t remember the last time he smiled or laughed. Or spoke for that matter. He hummed sometimes when he looked at the stars at night, but he’d not spoken a word in a very long time. There was no one to talk to after all.

 

Zoro had just moved to a new city. He didn’t really like it much. It was too big. There were too many people in the public areas. The only thing he liked about the place was the state park that ran through the middle of the city. He had never been there before, but it was summer and he wanted to go swimming. The park was quite big and had a creek running through it. There was even a giant concrete pool built at the end of the creek that you could go swimming in. 

He could go anywhere he wanted. His parents weren’t very involved in his life. He rarely saw them even though they lived in the same house. He didnt come out of his room much and none of them ate at the dinner table. It wasn’t a bad thing. Zoro liked alone time and freedom to do whatever the hell he wanted. 

He was unpacking his new room, listening to music when his dog, Chopper, came in. He was dragging the leash in his mouth. Well, Zoro had been cooped up in the room full of boxes for a few hours, so why not visit the park? He hooked the leash on and picked up his phone, using GPS to find his way there. The two walked down the stairs and left the two story house. It was much larger than their old house, and he didn’t know if he liked the extra space yet. He locked the door behind him and clipped his keys to his belt loop and he and the dog went on their way.

When he reached the park, he was surprised how little people were hanging out there. Maybe they all went deeper into the park to the creek. He hadn’t brought any swim trunks; he was just going for a walk. There was only a few people out on the lawn, one of them being up on the branch of a large tree. He wondered how the kid had climbed up so high. As he passed the lawn, he noticed the kid leap off the branch, which was at least 15 feet high, and landed on his feet without a sound. It was impressive. The kid was short and had black hair. He looked miserable as he walked over and sat against the tree and pulled his knees up. Zoro felt strangely sorry for him, but walked on with Chopper and spent a few hours exploring the park. 

When he came back, the black haired teen was still there, this time sitting next to a group of teenagers. He seemed to be trying to look at their books laid out around them. They completely ignored him as he craned his neck to look the text books. 

Well at least he seemed to have friends. Chopper was tired, so Zoro picked him up. The dog wasn’t very big. Just a brown terrier. The two left the park and went back home for the rest of the day and Zoro continued to unpack.

 

Luffy leaned over the laps of the group of laughing teenagers to try and see the interesting looking textbooks. He tried his best to not pass through any of them. It was a cold feeling he didn’t particularly like. He stood up and away a few feet from the group as they packed their things and left. He went back to his tree and waited until the park cleared to go back onto the lawn and watch the stars. When you had endless time on your hands, you can name every star, even if they’re not correct. He named them whatever he wanted.

Luffy was glad no one was allowed in the park at night. It was nice and quiet, excluding the sounds of frogs and crickets. Luffy heard something and sat up. He looked around before seeing a bobcat walking through the trees. It was strange it was so far into the city. He hoped it went away and no one saw it so it wouldn’t get shot. He’d seen that a couple years ago and it was hard to watch. Seeing the blood on the pavement reminded him too much of what his own body looked like laying there. Sometimes he could still see the blood stains if he looked hard enough. Maybe it was just in his head, but he saw it. 

The bobcat slunked away and back into the trees. Luffy decided to follow it. He could see fine in the dark. His own glow made enough light at night for him to see things around him easily. He walked through the leaves, not disturbing any of them. He could interact with stationary objects, like the tree, ground and bench, but he never moved the grass when he walked across the lawn, or the leaves when he passed through them as he walked. 

The feline caught a rabbit and ran off right when Luffy caught up to it. He reached the creek and looked down at the water. He couldn’t go in, he could only walk across the top. He’d tried to get in, attempting to stick his hand through the surface, but that never worked. It was like a solid barrier that his hand would hit and not penetrate it at all. He walked across the water and sat down on the surface to watch the fish below him. Luffy was glad that if he had to die, it was somewhere nice, not in the middle of the bustling city where he’d constantly be plagued with people walking through him all day.

Even if people didn’t see Luffy, he wished animals did. Or even bugs. He missed eye contact. When he was alive, he craved attention and company, and when he suddenly became rid of it, it hurt. He physically felt sick from the loneliness sometimes, although he couldn't get sick like this. He had felt like he was going to throw up, but he guessed it was just mentally. 

After a few hours of walking around the park, he went back to the lawn and closed his eyes. He couldn’t sleep, something that he had always hated. He was awake 24/7. 

He waited for the sun to come up and start another boring and endless day.

Zoro was starting to like the new city, but only because of the park. He had gone there everyday for the past week and had enjoyed it. But he noticed that teenager was there every day. Didn’t he ever go any place else? He’d hang upside down off his tall tree branch or lay on the lawn, frowning the whole time. It was strange to Zoro. 

Today, he was surprised to see the black haired boy wasn’t on the lawn or tree branch. He was partly glad he had found something else to do. As Zoro walked further into the park, going about the trails, he saw the boy sitting near the edge of the water watching a group of people swim. He didn’t touch the water or interact with the swimmers. 

Zoro watched as his face lit up when he saw a bunny hopping right towards him. He waved his hand in front of the rabbit’s face, but it wasn’t fazed at all. It just turned around and went back hopping into the underbrush, obviously disappointing the seemingly lonely person. He stood up and walked back up another trail quietly, away from the swimmers. Zoro felt like following him for some reason, so he did. 

The lonely boy walked along trail after trail, obviously knowing where he was going. He walked eerily quiet, like he was just gliding across the ground. He made sure not to touch anything. He didn’t touch any leaves or branches. Zoro finally lost him when he climbed up a large clump of steep rocks expertly and Zoro couldn’t keep up with his impressive climbing abilities. He didn’t slip once and was soon out of Zoro’s sight. He ran his hand through his green hair and turned around and failed at trying to find his way back to the paved road. He wandered around for a while.

 

Luffy hadn’t noticed the green haired guy he’d seen multiple times following him. Why would he? No one could see him. It was a coincidence. He climbed higher and higher up the rocks to the other side where there was a hollow cave next to the creek. No one was ever over here, and there was never any trash left over, so he wondered if anyone else had found this place. His glow illuminated the cave and gave it a pretty blue-green shimmery hue.

Luffy had decided to explore the park for a few days instead of staying on the lawn. There was a large gathering placed there for a few days. Some fundraising stuff. He still went over there at night, but during the day, he just wanted some quiet. He watched people in the creek for a while, but never for too long. He knew every inch of the park, and he knew where every trail led to. He found he liked exploring very much, even though he knew most of the park like the back of his hand.

After a while of relaxing behind the stream, he got up and walked straight through the water without getting wet. He walked alone the surface of the creek, looking below him as he did so. 

He wandered around for a couple more hours before he headed to the tallest tree he was able to climb. He could see almost the whole park from the giant plant. It had been around thousands of years. It took over and hour to climb. Sometimes he wished he could just fly. It’d be so much easier for some things. 

When he reached the top, he walked out along the highest branch and sat down. Even if he fell, it wouldn’t hurt. He couldn’t feel pain anymore. Not physically. He swung around the branch until he was upside down with his legs hooked over the top. He watched the hawks fly around in the sky and the people on the paved road that goes through the middle walk by. It was getting later, and people were leaving the park as the sun started setting. Soon the place would be completely quiet. He had a good view of the sky up here, so he decided to hang out on this branch for the night.

Well, until a bunch of birds landed on it. There were so many, and it was like a ton of tiny needles going through him. He scooched further away from the birds, thoroughly irritated. It had taken so long to get up here! He stood up and walked to the edge of the branch and leaped to the next tree, a tad shorter than the one he was just on. It was late evening, and would soon be dark out, so Luffy’s slight glow could be visibly seen. He was like a glow stick as he walked along the branches, illuminating the space around him. 

He crouched on one of the thick branches and watched a family of birds settle themselves in a hole on the trunk of the tree. A sudden pair of squirrels got in a fight on the branch, startling Luffy and knocking him off balance. He stumbled off the tree, huffing angrily at the stupid animals. It had taken him forever to get up there! 

The fall wasn’t scary or unpleasant. It was actually kind of nice. Even though the wind didn’t ruffle his hair or clothes, he could still feel it against his skin. The fall only lasted maybe ten seconds, but it wasn’t too bad. He landed lithely on his feet, not making a sound or impression on the ground.

 

As Zoro finally left the park, he looked up at the birds flying around the tallest tree. It was massive Then he noticed slight movement on the tree. Something was swinging on a tall branch. His jaw opened in shock and disbelief as he saw it was the kid he was following around today swinging off the branch. Did he have a death wish?! Zoro couldn’t stop watching as the mysterious kid walked from tree branch to tree branch before stopping on one of them. He watched in horror as he stumbled and fell off the giant tree. 

Zoro took off running in the direction of the tree, nicking his arms as he ran through the trees and branches. He was convinced he’d find a dead body, everything broken and twisted. But he didn’t call the police. He was too stunned and pumping too much adrenaline. 

It was dark out by now and Zoro had to wonder if the crazy kid was homeless. He seemed to live in the park, but didn’t have anything with him. No backpack or sleeping bag. Just him, wearing a black shirt and red shorts. 

Finally, Zoro reached the group of massive trees, panting, and came across the area he’d seen the person fall off. There was no body! Zoro looked around desperately, circling the trees but still found no body! There was no way anyone could survive a fall like that! He looked up but couldn’t see Luffy climbing up it once again. He could vaguely make out something glowing that was sliding up the trees. But it was dark out and the branches of the other trees were getting in the way. He stood there, watching the glowing thing get higher and higher for at least ten minutes, until it stopped and moves perpendicular to the tree, not that far up compared to how high the mysterious teen had been hanging on.

 

Luffy looked up at the tree, smiling for once. The fall was really fun. For as long he’d been here, why hadn’t this ever happened before? He could do this all night long. It beats walking around with nothing to do. So he climbed up again, but only until he reached a lower branch. He didn’t want to spend too much time getting back up. He got to a branch with a satisfying height and walked along it and then leaping straight off. He actually laughed as he fell. It was true and sincere laughter. 

He hit the ground and actually stumbled, falling on his butt, still laughing as he made to climb up again. He didn’t notice a shocked living person standing behind him as he gripped onto the trunk again.

 

Zoro watched as the glowing thing came falling off the branch with the sound of laughter. The glowing thing was a blur until it landed on the ground in front of him, facing away. It was the kid! He was laughing like he hadn’t just leaped off a fifty foot branch! The glowing person didn’t acknowledge Zoro behind him as he walked back to the tree. 

“How the hell did you survive that?!” he shouted when he recovered from his shock. The teen stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He looked around until he pointed to himself, as if asking if Zoro was talking to someone else.

“Yes you! How are you alive?!” Zoro demanded.

“Y- you can see me?” the other asked in disbelief. His eyes were wide before he gave a huge smile. “You can see me!” he said and jumped up and down in joy.

“What are you talking about?” Zoro questioned. 

“No one can see me! But you can? Why?!” the other said continuing to jump up and down. 

“I- I don’t know. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

“I’m Luffy!” Luffy exclaimed loudly and excitedly, not answering Zoro’s question. “Who’re you?” 

“Z- Zoro. But what are you talking about? And why are you glowing?” Zoro loked him up and down. He looked normal, besides of beautiful blue colored glow emanating off him. The light moved fluidly, not in the same shape all the time, but still surrounding Luffy evenly.

“I’m dead so no one can see me,” Luffy said happily, as if dying was a load of fun. Luffy felt all his loneliness and depression flow away as he spoke to Zoro, who frowned. Nothing was making sense. Was Luffy a ghost or something? “I don’t know why I can glow, though.”

“So you’re a ghost or something?” Zoro asked, still a bit shocked but now extremely intrigued. Luffy just shrugged still smiling. Just when he was going to ask more questions, someone came out from behind one of the trees. 

“Kid, you’re not supposed to be here after sunset,” the park ranger said, completely ignoring Luffy. Luffy’s smile was wiped off his face as the man ignored him. He knew it wasn’t the park ranger’s fault he couldn’t see him. It was no ones fault. Zoro stuttered out “I was just leaving” when the man asked him if there was anyone else out here because he had heard Zoro’s shouting.

“I was on the phone,” Zoro lied. The man squinted his eyes in suspicion, but then let Zoro leave. Luffy walked a little bit in front of Zoro as he led the the living person to the exit of the park. Once the park ranger was out of earshot, Zoro started talking to Luffy again.

“Do you live here? How long have you been dead?” he asked, thoroughly interested.

“I stay here. I don’t go anywhere else because this is where I died,” Luffy answered, walking backwards, going straight through the bushes and branches as he spoke to Zoro. 

“Did you die falling off a tree?” 

“No, my family was hit by a car,” Luffy said casually. “What year is it?” Luffy asked with his finger on his chin, as he continued to pass right through small foliage. Zoro answered that it was 2018.

“I died in 1967,” Luffy said simply. It had been over 50 years? It felt so much shorter, but in the same way so much longer.

“You’ve been here for fifty years?” Zoro asked. He could do math, but he couldn’t believe someone could stay in a park alone for over fifty years. Luffy nodded somewhat solemnly. “Where is the rest of your family?” Zoro asked softly.

“I think they passed on to wherever dead people are supposed to go next,” Luffy answered, finally turning around to face forward. “I don’t know why I’m still here…” he said softly.

Zoro changed the subject away from his family and asked another question. “How old were you when you died?” The ghost looked really young. He looked about a few inches shorter than Zoro.

“Seventeen. Ah, we’re almost to the entrance,” Luffy mentioned as they left the trail and walked onto the paved road, close to the exit and entrance. Zoro was surprised Luffy was only a year younger than him. The two walked side by side until they reached the gates, which were already closed.

“Come see me again tomorrow,” Luffy said desperately. Zoro nodded with a smile as he walked away, waving once before he was out of Luffy’s sight. Luffy happily skipped away and headed back to the giant trees. He started to cry on his way, but didn’t stop running. After fifty years, he had talked to someone. Someone had made eye contact with him and expressed concern for his safety. Luffy was so happy. He had thought he’d be alone forever. 

As he sat in the tree, overlooking the park, he thought about what he would be doing tomorrow. Would Zoro really come? Oh he hoped so. 

 

Zoro was in shock on his way back to his new house. He’d talked to a ghost. A ghost boy from the 60’s. He couldn’t believe it. Like it was a dream. He was definitely going back to see Luffy tomorrow. He felt sad for the kid. Alone in a park with no one to talk to for fifty years. How awful. He wondered why Luffy stayed in the park only. He wondered if he could touch Luffy, since he seemed to walk through most objects. 

Zoro was exhausted. It had been a long and tiring day. He wasn’t unfit, but running through the park and up steep ground was a bit tiring. The first thing he did when he entered the house was make a bowl of cereal for dinner and go upstairs. He ignored the boxes on his bed and pulled out his laptop. He googled the park name and “car crash in 1967”. Apparently it was bad, because a whole list of articles about the crash popped up. There were even pictures, though they were black and white. 

The car that was hit was mangled beyond comprehension. He was surprised to find a picture of one of the bodies on google images. Luffy’s body was covered in blood with glass sticking out of almost every part of his body. There was a puddle of blood on the pavement under and around him. Zoro gasped. Some of his limbs were twisted around. He laid on his back, with his mouth open. There were no pictures of the family, but there were blood splatters on the interior of the car. 

Someone took graphic pictures of the scene. There was no way any place professional, like the police department, would put these photos up. He read more about the crash and learned that everyone in the car died instantly, while the middle child had been alive for a few moments after being thrown through the windshield. That image made Zoro feel sick. His cereal wasn’t so appetizing anymore after his little research. 

Zoro was excited for tomorrow. He couldn’t wait to find out more about Luffy and what it is like to be a ghost. He wasn’t going to say it so blatantly, since it probably sucked being a ghost, but he was very curious about what he could do. He had a nice smile. It was also interesting that he could glow. 

He had trouble falling asleep he was so excited and buzzing with questions he wanted to learn about him.


	2. Learning New Things

As the sun started rising, Luffy jumped off the branch he'd ended up on after walking across the trees all night and made his way back through the park and to the entrance. He was bouncing on his toes as he walked, excited to be seen again today. If Zoro showed up. Luffy knew it hadn't been a dream because he couldn't anymore.

He walked straight across the creek, omitting any bridges. As he walked, he became less and less excited, the feeling being replaced by dread of Zoro not showing up. He could understand if the other had thought Luffy was a dream and didn't really exist. He assumed even he wouldn't have easily believed something like this was reality back when he was alive. He chewed on his lips and climbed up the much shorter tree than the others and sat on his usual branch to wait. He and Zoro didn't really set a time for their meeting, but he had an endless amount of time on his hands, so waiting in the place he usually stays at for a while was no big deal.

People arrived at the park early. One of the usuals went on her daily run almost right after the sun came up. Luffy watched someone drop off a box of puppies and leave them next to the red bench Luffy sometimes sat on. This wasn't a rare occurrence. Luffy would watch the puppies get picked up by bystanders or someone professional and be taken away. He went up to the little puppies t see them, and everytime they ignored him, though it happened whenever he went up to them, it hurt.

He waited on the branch patiently, but also nervously. No one is fifty one years had seen him, and the thought of Zoro not coming and Luffy risking being invisible for the rest of his existence wasn't a pleasant thought.

Zoro woke up next to his bowl of puffy and swollen cereal in the warm milk on his desk. Chopper had left it alone, surprisingly. Zoro thought last night had been a dream. A very interesting dream, and had decided he wasn't going to the park today, since he had to unpack more, but when he saw the window open with the car accident he'd looked up last night still on his computer when he turned it on, he realized it hadn't been a dream, which made him surprisingly very happy.

He quickly threw on a tanktop and shorts and barely grabbed his phone as he ran down the stairs and out the house, not locking the door behind him. He sprinted to the park as fast as he could and finally slowed as he entered the park entrance. He looked around quickly, not seeing Luffy at first until he looked at a large group of people and saw Luffy's slightly noticeable glow separating himself from the alive people. He was looking over the shoulder of someone, trying to read their book, but couldn't read the whole page.

Zoro called out his name, making Luffy's head perk up and smile as he looked around, finding Zoro quickly and silently running over to him. Luffy tried to make his grin a little smaller since he looked a bit crazed and walked with Zoro as they tried to get out of earshot from the other park visitors so Zoro wouldn't look crazy, talking to air.

"I'm glad you came!" Luffy said happily as he lead them down a random trail.

"I'm glad you're real or I'd feel like I've taken some hard core drugs," Zoro said flatly. "I almost didn't come because I thought it was a dream."

"What made you come then?" Luffy asked as he walked backwards like the night before. Zoro had trouble paying attention to their conversation because he was so fascinated with Luffy's feet going smoothly and silently through the underbrush.

"I had Googled your accident last night," Zoro said. He wasn't one to usually to sugarcoat his words and was pretty blunt, but Luffy wasn't offended, just confused.

"What's a google?" he asked curiously. He assumed it was something that had been invented after his death. He'd never been able to ask or learn what had been made after he died. He was so curious about the shiny boxes people loved to look at. He was excited to have someone to ask all of these questions he's been dying to learn the answers to.

"It's like a super dictionary and you can just uh… search something and then it will give you answers," Zoro said, having trouble explaining it to someone who doesn't know internet slang or vocabulary.

"Then you found out about my accident?" Luffy questioned. He'd long since gotten over his death. Yeah he missed company and was sad sometimes and missed life in general, but it happened over fifty years ago. He'd made peace with the fact he died a tragic death. That was in the past.

"Yeah. It was really brutal. Did… did you see your body afterwards?" Zoro asked solemnly. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah it was bad. I'm glad I'm not stuck all bloody though. At least I look clean for how long I'll ever be around. I wouldn't want to be covered in blood with glass sticking out everywhere," he stated simply.

"You're taking this awfully well. Doesn't it bother you? That you died like that?" Zoro was curious. Very curious. He was glad he hadn't offended the ghost.

"Well it was a long time ago. I think my family must have got where they were supposed to go, and it's not like it hurts to be like this. It's been really lonely, for a really long time, but it is what it is. I don't think there's anything I can do to change it."

"I see. Well good for you," Zoro said sincerely. He wasn't being rude or anything. "Can I ask you something?"

"Only if you let me ask a question afterwards," Luffy responded happily. They continued to walk down the trail, neither really paying attention to where they were going.

"Ok. What are the rules about walking through things?"

"Rules?"

"Yeah, like how does it work? It's really interesting," Zoro said almost eagerly.

"Well, I can touch stationary things, like this tree," he said as he put his hand against a tree they walked past. Then he continued, "But I can't touch anything that can move. Um, an example would be I can touch a car if it's not moving, but if it moved it would go right through me. I can't touch the leaves or grass because it can move."

"Is that why you can't touch people? Because they move?" Zoro asked as he climbed over a log Luffy had to hop over. "What if they aren't moving?"

"I don't really like to touch people. It feels like a shard of ice going through me. That's why I make sure to not be careless when walking around living people," Luffy finished. "My turn now."

"What's your question?" Zoro questioned curiously. What would Luffy want to know? There are probably tons of things he'd want to know.

"What are the shiny boxes everyone is so obsessed with? Everyone has one and they just keep getting thinner."

"Oh, those are cell-phones. Here," Zoro said as he pulled his own phone out of his short's pocket. He sat down on a big log and unlocked the screen. Luffy sat next to him, close enough to see but far enough to not risk touching the living person.

"Oh wow! You can touch it and it works," Luffy said in awe as Zoro scrolled through the menu. "When I was alive, I think that phones were big and you had to turn a dial to punch in numbers." Luffy sighed wistfully. "I wish this stuff had been around when I was alive. I think I would have liked it. "

"You don't remember it?" Zoro asked.

"I don't remember anything about my old life. I know a lot of words for things. Cars, trees ,park. Stuff like that," the ghost explained.

Zoro spoke next as he continued to play with his phone in Luffy's view. He opened up some games and smirked as Luffy became enthralled with watching him play simple games. "Why do you stay here? There are a lot of places you could go with seemingly endless amounts of time on your hands. Don't you get tired of here?"

Luffy paused for a moment, trying to find a good way to put his answer. "Where would I go? I don't like populated areas much. Too many risks of walking through someone or them walking through me. Too many eyes not being able to see me. Besides, it's nice here. And can be fun, like yesterday," Luffy explained.

"You mean when you jumped off a tree and gave me a heart attack?" Zoro asked a little sharply. He was still irked about how panicked he felt. He was glad he didn't call 911 or he would have looked crazy and probably gotten in trouble.

"Well, yeah. I've actually never done that before though. But it was fun!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"Why don't you travel around the world? Since you're not alive and can't die, you could go to remote places and not worry about freezing to death or being attacked by animals or diseases. You could explore the ocean," Zoro said, trying and failing to understand why Luffy would just stick to one place for fifty years without considering going anywhere else.

"How would I get to these places? I don't know if I could even get on a bus let alone a plane. And I wouldn't find a way to get back here," Luffy replied simply. It just didn't seem worth it to leave. "Besides, if I had gone somewhere else, we wouldn't have ever met!" Luffy concluded with a grin. It was so big it looked like it would hurt to wear.

Zoro pursed his lips, but didn't have s response to counter Luffy's statement.

"Oh, and I can't explore the ocean," he added, still watching Zoro absentmindedly trail his finger across the screen.

"Why not?" Zoro asked, puzzled but interested. Luffy got up and told him he'd show Zoro.

Luffy lead him to the creek and walked into the water. Well, onto it. He walked across the surface.

"Are you Jesus or something?" Zoro asked, joking. "You can't go in  _at all_? Ever?"

"Nope. I've tried countless times. My body just doesn't go past the surface." Luffy gracefully walked across the surface of the creek while he spoke "I sometimes wish I could. Like you said, I could go as far as I want and as deep. I don't need to breathe after all."

"Then why do you?"

"Habit I guess," Luffy replied as he silently walked back over to the land. "Can you show me more stuff on your phone?" he asked eagerly. Zoro agreed and spent the next few hours showing Luffy everything his phone could do. He eventually tried explaining the internet to Luffy, but it just wasn't clicking. He couldn't understand any of the vocabulary Zoro was using. He was becoming more and more frustrated that Luffy didn't understand any of it, though it wasn't the ghost boy's fault. Zoro had to remind himself that as he grew more impatient.

"I'll bring my laptop next time," Zoro said.

"What's that?" Luffy asked. Zoro replied that it was a portable computer. Luffy of course didn't know what a computer was.

"I'll just show it to you next time." Luffy grinned that there would be a next time. That he hadn't been boring the living teen all day. He decided he could trust Zoro with his secret place.

"I have somewhere cool to show you!" Luffy said to Zoro excitedly.

"Where?" Zoro asked, interested, to which Luffy said "I'll show you!" and led him back up the path they were on and turning at a fork in the paths.

"You really know your way around here," Zoro observed, somewhat unnecessarily. Luffy didn't mind the obviousness.

"Yeah, I know this place like the back of my hand. Not just the lower parts of the park, I can hike up to the pretty far if you walk a few hours north. I haven't climbed up the mountains yet, though. It would probably be relatively easy for me, but it would be hard for you, though," Luffy said, not meaning anything rude or challenging.

"And why is that?" Zoro asked. He could do it!

"It's really dangerous up there. Bears like to stay up there because of the fish in that area. It's like a giant pool full of fish that the bears love. And it's easy to fall. I followed a group up there a few years ago and one of them fell and broke their neck," Luffy said somewhat casually. "It was scary, and there were a lot of police up there for a while. It irritated the bears. I thought something bad was going to happen between them and the living people, but nothing happened."

The two finally reached the creek, only to walk along the shore until they reached where Zoro had lost him when he had followed him once. Luffy grinned at him and scaled the rocks easily, frustrating Zoro, who hadn't come prepared for hiking. Luffy climbed higher and higher until he reached the top and eagerly waited for Zoro to catch up. Zoro was an athletic person, but even he had trouble with this. The rocks were so steep and smooth it was hard to grab on to.

"It'll be worth it," Luffy said as Zoro huffed. Finally, the green haired teen reached the top and put his hands on his knees. "Now we have to drop down right there," Luffy said as he pointed downwards and into the creek. He didn't wait for Zoro to complain about jumping into the water, and that he couldn't just walk across the surface like Luffy could. Zoro sighed and dropped down after Luffy. He got more irritated when Luffy walked right through a waterfall.

Zoro sighed and pulled off his shirt so at least  _some_ of his clothes wouldn't get soaked and put it on one of the rocks he'd jumped down from and put his phone on top of it. He walked through the water like Luffy had, only to get soaked, unlike Luffy, who was completely dry. Zoro had to admit, it was worth it. It was a simple cave that was made amazing by Luffy's blueish seemingly natural glow. The sides of the cave glittered with the light and as Luffy moved around, the glittering shifted like there were bioluminescent bugs on the wall, scattering around. It was beautiful. Luffy sat down and leaned against the wall, just by moving making the alcove shimmer in color.

"Cool, huh?" Luffy asked happily. He could tell Zoro liked it. "There's actually something good from me glowing."

"You're like, your own nightlight. Does it just happen, or can you control it?" Zoro asked, sitting across for the glowing boy, his wetness forgotten.

"I always glow, but it's only really noticeable in the dark. But there's something really cool I figured out I can do," Luffy said excitedly. "Wanna see?" Zoro nodded. Luffy brought his finger up and stared at it intensely until it started glowing a bit stronger than the rest of him. Zoro watched in fascination as a small ball of blue light floated off of Luffy's finger.

The little orb floated around for a moment before it merged with the roof of the small cave above them and left a little glowing patch on the smooth surface. Luffy watched Zoro's expression of fascination and laughed. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah. Is that the only thing like that you can do?" Luffy nodded.

"Took me years to figure out how to do that. I wish I could learn to fly," Luffy sighed wistfully.

"Yeah, typically ghosts can fly or at least float. Well, in stories and movies and shit." Zoro thought of another question. "Is this where you sleep?"

Luffy gave a small sigh. How he wished he could sleep. For fifty years it's been a never ending day. "I don't sleep. I can't." Zoro then questioned why, to which Luffy shrugged and pursed his lips.

"So it's been the same day for you since the 1960's?" Luffy nodded solemnly. It was one of the things he truly hated about his situation. He had no reprieve from reality. He couldn't dream or completely relax. He'd tried many times, but it never happened. His body never became tired, though he sometimes was mentally. It was difficult for him to even remember what sleeping felt like after all this time. All he remembered was that it was nice and he used to do it a lot.

Zoro looked at his watch in surprise. It was already evening, close to the beginning of sunset. Luffy saw him looking and walked through the water to see the sky turning pink. Zoro followed him, soaked once again, and went to put his shirt back on.

"Wow, today went fast!" Luffy exclaimed happily, but with a tinge of disappointment, so faint Zoro didn't notice its presence. Zoro held his phone since his shorts were wet and it wouldn't do to put his phone in their pockets. "I'll take you back to the entrance now," Luffy said as he walked across the water.

"Do we have to climb back up these rocks?" Zoro asked, hoping Luffy would deny it, which, thankfully, he did.

"There's another trail but it's longer, so it's either shorter after the climb or longer not climbing," Luffy explained. Zoro really didn't want to climb back over the rocks, so they went the long way. Zoro watched the foliage around the ghost being illuminated by Luffy's glow. Even if the sun was still up, some parts of the park were darker if they had thick trees. This path was a lot more wild and seemed to be fairly unused, so there were a lot of sticks and logs to climb over.

By the time the two reached the park entrance, it was late evening. Luffy waved Zoro off after Zoro confirmed he'd be back tomorrow. He'd suggested Luffy come over to his place, since Luffy showed Zoro his home, it was only fair for him to show Luffy his. Luffy hesitantly agreed, and was going to be picked up the next day.

Zoro was confused as he walked home. It was strange he invited Luffy, someone he just met, to his house. He'd never really invited any friends over to his place, and here he was inviting someone he just met and happened to be a ghost or spirit or whatever Luffy wanted to be called. He had enjoyed the day immensely. Luffy was great company and fascinating as well. He was looking forward to seeing his amazed face when Zoro showed him all of the technology Luffy'd never seen before the next day.

Zoro wondered how Luffy would deal with leaving the park. He felt kinda mean for making Luffy leave when he had expressed he never went or wanted to go anywhere different. But he had agreed, so it was his choice. Zoro decided he'd ask again if he really wanted to come with him when he saw the glowing ghost tomorrow.

Zoro was still digesting everything he'd seen today. He kept seeing the glowing cave and hearing the sound of the waterfall echoing around them. He kept remembering Luffy gracefully walking across the surface of the water, leaving no ripples or any proof he was there. But he also kept seeing Luffy's dead and bloody body. He now wished he hadn't looked it up. To see the smiling person who seemed to radiate light, a different type than his blue glow, bleeding out and his face contorted in pain was terrible. To think he was alive for a few moments in that condition was awful.

He finally reached his house, having not paid attention most of the way home. It was seven o'clock and getting darker out.

Zoro entered the house, where the door was still unlocked, and walked in. There was pizza in the fridge so he got three slices and walked past his parents' bedroom and up to his room. He had a lot of unpacking to do since he wasn't sure if Luffy would be crowded or just walk through everything. It was also intriguing that he was able to walk through moving objects but not stationary ones. Could he sit on Zoro's bed? Could he walk through doors or windows? He couldn't wait to know!

He spent the next five hours unpacking everything and putting his posters and things up on his walls but stopping frequently to do something else not productive. He took out the trash, folded down the cardboard boxes, cleaned the room, and moved on down to the first floor to clean whatever Luffy might see on his way up to Zoro's room. He didn't know why he cared if Luffy saw a mess. Usually he didn't give a shit about a cluttered house that wasn't well organized. At his old place, both his closet and hamper had been the floor in his room.

Zoro thought about getting snacks, but assumed Luffy couldn't eat. Poor guy. Zoro wouldn't know what he could do to not fall apart if he couldn't ever eat. Or sleep. Zoro loved to take naps.

He eventually went to bed around midnight, excited about the next day once again.


	3. Zoro's House

Luffy walked away from the park entrance when Zoro left to go home and went to his cave. He was nervous about tomorrow. He hadn't left this place in a half a century. It was weird to think of it that way. He didn't really know Zoro, but he had no one else in the world to talk to or be around, and Zoro seemed to genuinely be interested with him and enjoyed his company. Luffy hoped he wasn't just thinking overly optimistic.

He wondered what Zoro's house was going to be like. He didn't remember his own house, or what it looked like. He wondered what Zoro was going to show him. He wanted to get a better look at the "inturnet".

Honestly, he didn't know how he felt about Zoro "looking up" Luffy's tragic death. He saw Luffy's bloody body, something Luffy never wanted anyone to see. Did Zoro pity him now? Sure, it made sense to feel bad for him, alone and invisible to everyone for fifty one years, but seeing something like that… it was a different case. Luffy wondered if Zoro saw him bloody and dead when he looked at him. Well, he was dead, but that was also a different case.

Luffy couldn't stop seeing how amazed Zoro was in that cave. It was really one of the only things Luffy liked about glowing. He also liked that he would light up the area around him at night, making his body his own personal and permanent lantern.

Luffy sat down in his cave and doodled on the wall with his light coming from the tip of his fingers. The images didn't stay long and faded, just to make more room for Luffy to draw some more. He didn't draw anything in particular for a while, just patterns. But then he started drawing the massive trees, covering one whole side of the cave.

Luffy then wandered around the rest of the night, excited for tomorrow.

Zoro got up pretty early; he didn't want to make Luffy wait. He put on a shirt and a light jacket, since it was still early and chilly, and left the house, locking the door behind him this time. His parents were both at work today, so he and Luffy wouldn't be bothered. Well, more like his parents wouldn't be concerned about Zoro's mental state, talking to a ghost no one else could see.

He was surprised to see Luffy wasn't on the lawn of the park entrance. Zoro thought he might have not expected Zoro to come so early. There weren't many people, and most of them were going into the park on runs since it was still cold.

He finally saw Luffy as he exited a trail and walked onto the main road, not really paying attention and getting run through by a runner. He gasped in pain and clutched his chest, grimacing. It looked like it really hurt. Zoro ran over to him.

"Hey, are you ok?" Zoro asked, concerned.

"Zoro!" Luffy said happily, seeming to forget his pain. "Oh, I'm ok. It hurts when I touch people. I'm ok now though," he said, brushing the topic off. Zoro decided he would try his best not to touch Luffy on accident and definitely not on purpose.

"Did you still want to come to my house?" Zoro asked seriously, prepared to be declined, but Luffy just beamed and said he still wanted to go. Zoro felt a strange surge of relief. "Ok good," he said, wearing a small smile.

Zoro led Luffy to his new house, not speaking as Luffy looked around in wonder. The houses were huge and fancy. Finally Zoro stopped at the driveway for a large, two-story house. It had a large tree in the lawn, and double doors with glass planes on the side.

"Are you rich or something?" Luffy asked curiously. He didn't know much about how expensive houses were these days, but he knew it must have cost a lot of money.

"Kinda. My dad has a good paying job. Do you remember what your house was like?" Zoro asked curiously. Did he really not remember anything about his life when he was alive? Luffy thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a suitable answer.

"I don't remember, but we must not have been well off. That car was crappy even before it crashed," Luffy answered casually, causing Zoro to laugh at the bluntness about the topic of what happened in that crash. Well, around Zoro, but he didn't know that.

"My parents aren't supposed to be home, so I can talk to you without sounding crazy," Zoro said as he lead Luffy up the steps and unlocked the door.

"Do you ever think you are? Like, you're crazy and hallucinating that you met a glowing dead kid?" Luffy asked as he entered the house and looked around in awe. It was even fancier on the inside. There were boxes everywhere, indicating they just moved here. It was a bit dim in the entrance, since the windows above the tall door had curtains closed. Luffy's glow reflected off the tile underneath him.

"If I was imagining all this, then I must be on some hardcore drugs," Zoro replied. He watched Luffy's glow illuminate the area. He couldn't get over how amazing and just beautiful it was. "When was the last time you were in a building?" he asked while taking off his shoes. Luffy couldn't take off his flip flops. They were a strange choice when he was living. He didn't dress like everyone else and never combed his hair like all the other guys. His black hair was messy and unruly. Not quite like bedhead, but definitely not nice and fixed up. Luffy couldn't take off his clothes or shoes even if he wanted to.

"Not in a very long time. I don't really even remember the last time I was inside a house. Probably the day I died, but I can't remember. Though I assume it wasn't as fancy as here."

Zoro's dog, Chopper came barreling into the entrance hall and ran right through Luffy, who hadn't seen the little terrier in time and hissed in pain. He hated that! He usually did a good job making sure not to touch anyone, but twice in one day was ridiculous. His legs tingled for a moment after the stinging pain faded. Zoro wanted to scold Chopper, but really he didn't even know Luffy was there. Zoro wanted to try something.

He picked Chopper up under the front legs and held him right up to Luffy, who had turned around and asked curiously what Zoro was doing. He didn't say anything as he waited for Chopper to sense Luffy, but it didn't happen. He frowned a bit and put Chopper down, who ran off right away and didn't come back. "Animals can't see me either," Luffy told him, somewhat sadly.

"That's weird. In all those movies and stories animals can sense ghosts or spirits."

"Those are just movies, though. They sure sound more interesting than just wandering around for fifty years," Luffy replied.

"Mostly scaring, killing and haunting people," Zoro pointed out. Luffy nodded in response. He hadn't seen a movie in forever. Or read a book. He thinks he used to like reading, but didn't know what genre.

"Can I see the internet now?" Luffy asked suddenly and eagerly.

"Yeah let's go to my room," Zoro replied as he walked up the carpet stair case. Luffy was surprised when his foot sunk into the stair like it was mud. He yanked it out before Zoro could notice and tried walking up the next step. He growled in irritation as he sunk into the second step. What the hell? Zoro heard him growl behind him and turned around to see both of Luffy's feet stuck in the steps.

"What the hell?" Zoro asked. Luffy yanked both feet up and clung to the railing and stood up on it, not sinking on the wood. He walked upwards on the railing, making Zoro stare in awe and surprise. He walked up the steps next to Luffy, who looked thoroughly irritated. Sinking into the steps hadn't been pleasant. Not only was it frustrating, but it felt like tremendous pressure was pressing against his legs. It had been a long time since he felt pain or discomfort not including walking through the living.

He sat down on the railing that surrounded the walkway separating two part of the house. Luffy wanted to explore it, but that would be rude to go wandering around someone else's house. He hesitantly put one foot on the carpet and was glad when he didn't sink.

"Gah that was annoying!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped once on the floor to make sure he wouldn't sink. "That's never happened before."

"When was the last time you climbed stairs? There aren't any in the park, right? But you did fine climbing the rocks…" Zoro pondered. Another interesting occurrence with Luffy.

"No there aren't any stairs and I don't remember. I honestly have no idea why that happened. I'll just jump down or slide down the banister," Luffy said decidedly.

"Hmm…" Zoro said as he lead Luffy down the hall and into his room. Luffy walked in, taking in the surroundings. Zoro closed the door behind them and was somewhat uncharacteristically uncomfortable with Luffy looking around his room and didn't know why. Luffy walked right through the only box left. He was too distracted looking at everything he'd never seen before. A bunk of techy junk on a stand and a bunch of books just thrown around on a shelf.

"I thought you couldn't walk through stationary things," Zoro said as he watched Luffy's legs pass through the cardboard and its contents smoothly.

"How long has it been here?" Luffy asked, finally looking from the room back to Zoro. Zoro replied "not long" so Luffy explained that he'd noticed he can walk through stationary objects if they hadn't been there for a while. "Can you show me the internet now?" Luffy questioned, beaming from the prospect of seeing something new.

"Yeah," Zoro said as he reached to the desk to get to his laptop and sat on the bed. Without thinking, Luffy sat down only to sink right through it, looking like he had his head cut off and sitting on the bed. He huffed irritatedly and stood up. Zoro tried not to laugh at Luffy's angry face as he sat down on the floor, motioning for Luffy to do the same. Luffy carefully sat down right next to Zoro, making sure not to bump into him - well, through him.

Zoro spent the next two hours going through websites like YouTube and Facebook and other ones. Luffy asked him to go to Google, enthralled with everything he was seeing. He proceeded to ask Zoro to search random facts about anything and everything that just popped into his mind. Eventually, Luffy's attention strayed from the computer.

He looked around again and his gaze fell to the skinny screen on the wooden stand. "Is that a TV?" he asked curiously, leaning back on his hands. Like the phone, Luffy remembered what a TV was, though this one was much thinner.

"Yeah. It's actually pretty small compared to the one downstairs."

"Oo can we go see it?" the ghost boy asked excitedly. Zoro nodded, suddenly slightly irritated Luffy wanted to leave his room. He felt weird today. Zoro agreed and stood up, closing and putting his laptop on the bed, and left the room.

"Wait, I wanna see something," Zoro said, turning back around and closing the bedroom door. Luffy looked at him with his eyebrows raised, waiting for the question. "Can you walk through the door?"

Luffy honestly didn't know, but was now curious as well. He walked forward and put his hand on the door, somewhat expecting it to be solid, but it just passed right through the wood. The rest of his body followed. Zoro grinned, just not being able to get over how amazing it was that Luffy could just fluidly slide through objects. Luffy passed back through into the room before pressing the same hand against the wall. He didn't move through it.

"See, stationary objects are solid to me but the door moves so I guess that's why I was able to walk through it." Zoro nodded, opening the door again so he could go out. Luffy didn't want to sink into the steps mysteriously so he jumped off the platform, making no noise when his feet touched the tiled floor, reflecting his glow again. Zoro quickly walked down the stairs.

Luffy made sure to pay attention to where he was walking since he didn't want to sink into the floor again. He still couldn't figure out was caused it. Secretly it unnerved him greatly. Would he have gotten stuck? He didn't notice Zoro had been talking until he stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Luffy had been so excited about going to see the giant TV, but now he was frowning and looking at his feet.

Luffy looked up quickly. He hadn't even noticed what was around him as he followed Zoro. "What?"

"You're being really quiet and frowning."

"Oh, I'm just thinking about sinking in the stairs. It was scary. What if I had gotten stuck? There's no way you could pull me out. I'm never climbing stairs again," Luffy said forcefully with a single nod, like he'd made a momentous decision. Zoro smirked.

"Good luck with that," he said as he turned around and entered the kitchen. Luffy followed and tried sitting on one of the stools at the counter, only to slide down and land on his butt. He scowled and sat on top of the counter, which had obviously been there a while, and watched Zoro make some sort of food. It was cereal, so thankfully he couldn't smell it.

Zoro walked around the room with his bowl of cereal as he set up the giant TV. He put on an animted movie he'd think Luffy would like and they spent the next few hours watching the movie. Luffy's face was full of wonder through the whole thing. Zoro found it quite entertaining. Luffy had to sit on the floor because he was tired of seeing Zoro try to hide his laughter when he'd sink through the furniture. Well, it would be hard to watch a movie with half your head is into a couch. He couldn't really feel it, so he didn't mind sitting on the floor.

By the time the movie was over, it was getting dark outside. Darker than usual at this time. Luffy went to the window and saw it was raining. It wasn't surprising considering how cold it was in the morning. Well, to Zoro. Luffy didn't get hot or cold.

"It's getting dark, I should go back," he said happily. Zoro didn't miss the happiness and relief in his voice. Zoro understood that it must have been difficult to be somewhere else for a whole day when he hadn't left said place in half a century.

"But it's raining," Zoro said obviously. It was also pretty windy.

"That's fine. I don't get wet, remember?" Luffy said as he went to the front door. He turned around to see Zoro still lounging on the couch. "Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" Luffy asked, a bit hesitant. Zoro nodded, causing Luffy to beam. "I'll be at the entrance again," he said as he walked through the door.


	4. Romance Blooms

**This is a fluffy chapter but it gets more dramatic and serious in the next. Please review.**

The wind was fierce and the rain was pelting down in sheets, but it didn't bother Luffy. He couldn't feel the rain or wind. His clothes and hair stayed still in the wind, and he seemed to have little blue lights around him, but they were just raindrops reflecting his glow. Only he could see it though. No one else would see the glowing blue rain.

The walk to the park wasn't unpleasant, even though it was loud. He got back to the park, figuring his cave must be flooded. It was irritating when that happened because he couldn't go inside. It would be so full of water that he'd be scrunched against the ceiling, since he could only stand on the water. He walked down one of the trails, going to the massive trees and climbing it, thinking about how Zoro might not want to walk to the park in this weather. But they already agreed to meet there and he really didn't want to leave the park again tonight to go make different plans.

Zoro went to bed with his mind buzzing about the day. Luffy was actually really fun to be around. He had a carefree attitude that Zoro enjoyed being around. Most of his family, even outside his parents, were uptight. He guessed that was the price of being wealthy; everyone had a stick up their butt. Zoro hoped to god he didn't act like that.

Though he was slightly irritated he cared what he the ghost thought about him, he was looking forward to tomorrow, even if he had to hang out in the rain with his new friend.

Weeks went by as the two took turns hanging out at each other's homes. Even though he and Zoro mostly watched movies together, they still enjoyed each other's company. After exploring the park some, Luffy brought Zoro up to the top ridge he'd been to before. Zoro was told to bring hiking gear, which he went out and bought since he didn't own anything. Luffy warned him to be quiet and stay low so he doesn't bother the bears. Zoro was quite nervous about their little expedition, both from falling and breaking his neck, or getting mauled by bears. But he had to say, when he reached the top and saw the bears happily eating salmon in the rapids and playing with each other, the climb was worth it.

He watched behind a large rock for a while as Luffy wandered around the bears, walking silently across the surface of the water. It didn't matter how many times he saw Luffy jump from impossible heights and land silently and perfectly fine, or his glow, or him walking through things; it was fascinating every time.

Luffy was finally able to sit on the furniture in Zoro's home without sinking right through. He hadn't tried the stairs again though. He wouldn't ever, and was content with sliding down or walking up the banister or simply jumping off the landing. Luffy had seen Zoro's family once, and was not impressed. They completely ignored their son, who did the same to them. Neither party seemed to bothered about it, though. Luffy convinced himself it was none of his business and just followed Zoro upstairs.

Zoro found himself wanting to spend more and more time with Luffy, and everyday he was sad when Luffy left to go back to his home or vice versa, but always went to sleep looking forward to the next day. He felt himself wanting to reach out and take Luffy's hand, even though he knew it would just pass right through and cause Luffy pain, which he did not want to do. He didn't know Luffy felt the same.

It was tiring at first to go to Zoro's house after so long of being on his own in the big park. Tiring mentally, not physically. But the more he went, the sadder he felt when he left. He liked learning new things and seeing new technology, which seemed like magic to Luffy, but he also liked spending time with Zoro in his own home. He was glad Zoro didn't seem to get bored when they walked around the park, and he even liked to hang out in Luffy's cave. He brought his phone in once in a plastic bag and played music from it, echoing around the space. The music made the little alcove seem even more magical than when the walls glittered. They talked about random things for hours in that cave. Luffy loved asking questions, while Zoro liked seeing Luffy do impossible things. He couldn't count how many times he walked over the water and Zoro looked at him like he was the coolest thing ever. That made Luffy feel good about himself.

Every time the ghost boy had to move a few inches away from Zoro when they walked upset him. For once he wasn't sad about being a ghost; he was irritated and somewhat angry he couldn't touch Zoro at all. But Zoro respected his space, most likely not wanting to hurt his friend. Luffy wondered if his living friend ever thought the thoughts Luffy sometimes did. He felt somewhat ashamed of his thoughts.

Every single time Luffy walked through something, it reminded him he could never touch anyone ever again without being in pain. It was more tolerable before he had someone he might want to touch or hold their hand, but now that he did it was a terrible feeling. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, which he wasn't used to. He still was cheerful around Zoro, but he was feeling negative emotions more often. More negative than sadness. But Zoro made him happier than he had been in a while. It was confusing. How could someone make you so happy but so unintentionally frustrated at the same time? Luffy knew it wasn't Zoro's fault he couldn't him. He knew that. But still.

A few weeks after the two had started hanging out, Luffy and Zoro were sitting on Zoro's bed as Luffy watched Zoro play a video game. Luffy was fascinated with it, while Zoro was amused with Luffy oo's and ah's and that expression on his face whenever he learned or saw something new. The smile that brightened his whole face. Luffy had many smiles, but Zoro's favorite was this one. Partly because when he wore this smile, he directed it at Zoro, maybe unintentionally, but still.

Zoro had come to terms with his weird feelings about Luffy, because lately, instead of looking at Luffy's hands and wanting to hold them, he was looking at Luffy's lips and wanting to kiss him. Luffy hadn't caught his best friend's blushes sometimes. Now,  _that_  was a weird feeling as well. His whole face got uncomfortably hot, and at first he thought it was perpetual embarrassment for some reason. But he figured it out eventually. He had a crush on Luffy. A crush on a dead boy who could walk through objects, was invisible to everyone else, was untouchable and could leap from impossible heights without getting hurt. Maybe part of his feelings were  _because_ Luffy was so unique and fascinating. At least at first. But now, he'd come to love Luffy's smile and voice and everything he said, everything he did, made him love him more. Zoro hadn't ever known he was gay, but he felt no problem with it. Screw anyone who doesn't like it.

Luffy, though, still couldn't place his emotions and feelings whenever he thought of his friend. He didn't have the forward thoughts Zoro had, since Luffy had never been involved in romance or remember anything about it from his life. He wasn't exposed to anything of the sort in at least fifty one years. The feelings didn't feel familiar, but felt completely new. Zoro knew all about romance from daily life. Movies, magazines, seeing people together, and his parents years ago.

The two had done a good job not touching each other, since Luffy would just go right through Zoro if they did. They usually kept a minimum of three inches between each other, but they were going to bump eventually.

One day, Zoro brought his legs up to sit cross legged like Luffy was beside him, but his knee touched Luffy as he adjusted his position. Both teens froze in shock. Zoro hadn't passed through Luffy, he had  _touched him._  Like, felt the surface of his body and the warmth of the glow Zoro hadn't noticed before. Luffy's jaw dropped and he turned to look at Zoro, who looked just as shocked. Zoro was secretly ecstatic he had touched the person he loved, and that he could without hurting him.

The living teen became rather forward in his excitement. He trailed his hand along Luffy's arm gently, the skin strangely soft under his fingertips. He touched Luffy's black hair, which was softer than his velvety skin. Then Zoro did what he had been dying to do and wishing it was possible. He leaned forward and touched his lips to Luffy.

Luffy felt tingly where Zoro's fingers brushed his arm and was surprised when Zoro smiled and brought his mouth to Luffy's. It was a soft butterfly kiss but it spoke worlds to Luffy and meant worlds to Zoro. Luffy knew Zoro must have been having the tingly and strange feelings like him, and he was happy about it. He wasn't alone in his wish to get closer.

Luffy hesitantly brought his hand to Zoro's and relaxed into the kiss. Zoro was gentle, assuming Luffy had never been kissed, well at least not in over fifty years. After he broke apart from the soft kiss, Luffy smiled sheepishly, causing Zoro to smile as well, overjoyed he hadn't just screwed their friendship over. He leaned in again, bringing his hand to the back of Luffy's head and kissing him more deeply, but not forcefully. He waited for Luffy to kiss him back, which once he did, Luffy felt extremely embarrassed he couldn't figure out how to move his lips without risking accidentally eating Zoro's lips.

"I don't know how to kiss..." Luffy whispered when Zoro broke away a second time.

"That's fine," Zoro said, tucking a strand of Luffy's hair behind his ear with a smile. "I can teach you." Luffy nodded, waiting for another kiss, and tried his best to mirror Zoro's movements once the kiss started again. Zoro had trouble not laughing at Luffy's furrowed brow when he'd opened his eyes. Luffy was trying so hard and it was actually really cute.

Zoro took a chance and opened his mouth a bit into the kiss, trying to teach Luffy as best he could without words. Luffy tried to mimic Zoro, but really wasn't good at it. He made a surprised noise when Zoro touched Luffy's lip with his tongue. It was a bit unexpected, but he went with it and opened his mouth for Zoro. He assumed that's what he was supposed to do because Zoro smiled into the kiss and slipped his tongue in.

It went like that for a while until Zoro had to break the kiss to breathe deeply. Luffy was a little breathless, but he didn't have to breathe like a living person. It was mostly from the experience, not a body's need for air.

Luffy would have been blushing like mad if he could. He was unsure about how well it went. Did he mess it up completely, or did he do okay? He definitely didn't do a great job, but he hoped it wasn't unpleasant for Zoro. It was  _very_ pleasant for the ghost boy.

"Did I do okay?" Luffy asked quietly. Zoro smiled and grabbed Luffy's hand and kissed the palm.

"You did good. I'm sorry if it was too sudden," Zoro replied somewhat nervously. Did Luffy enjoy it? Was it too forward and too soon? He felt a little more at ease and when Luffy gave a sheepish smile.

"I've kinda wanted to… touch you for a while, but I assumed it wouldn't work," Luffy said quietly. But then he thought of something he found funny. "You must have looked so weird kissing the air," he said with a laugh.

"I don't care if it looks weird. I like you so I'll kiss you if I want," Zoro said like it was the most obvious thing ever. "And you want," he added quickly.

Luffy smiled at his words. "I like you too," he said quietly and happily. Zoro smirked. It had been hard to tell with Luffy. He showed are wide variety of emotions, and confusion had been included. If he blushed, it would be easier to tell. Zoro had taken a chance just now. Luffy could have easily pulled away and Zoro would have made their friendship awkward. Even though they'd met only a few weeks ago, Zoro felt like they clicked almost instantly. He felt the strong feelings start only the second week of them hanging out with each other.

Luffy suddenly crawled into Zoro's lap and sat down in the space between his folded legs and asked if they could put on a movie. Zoro smiled and said yes, exiting his game to put on a movie easily.

During the movie, Zoro wrapped his arms around Luffy's waist and rested his jaw on Luffy's head, content to just hold him. Luffy was much shorter than Zoro, so the position felt natural.

Luffy was grinning through almost the whole movie, reveling in the feeling of being in Zoro's arms. If he was able to sleep, he would have enjoyed sleeping in the position.

When it got dark out, Luffy almost asked to stay the night, but he'd just be sitting in Zoro's room not doing anything for hours while his now significant other slept. Luffy really didn't like doing nothing for an extended period of time. Boredom plagued him when he wasn't actively exploring the park or just watching the stars. He used to sit on the lawn for a very long time, content to watch the people around him. It was only recently that he found he favored walking around the trails instead of watching people he couldn't interact with. He was thankful though, because he met Zoro by staying on that lawn. Zoro had told him that's when he noticed him.

Luffy said he had to go since it was getting dark out, and Zoro almost asked him to stay, but Zoro would be asleep the whole time. He was going to see Luffy tomorrow anyway. He was glad he still had over a month and a half until he starts senior year. He didn't want to think about what could happen when school started again. But even when he thought about it, he never once thought he couldn't still see the person he was in love with. They'd make it work. He knew it and would refuse otherwise.

The two said their goodbyes after Zoro initiated a quick kiss, causing Luffy to smile sheepishly again. The ghost boy walked through the door and slid down the banister and passed through the front door and walked back home.

The rest of the night, Luffy was smiling as he sat on the highest branch on the tallest tree and watched everything he could see.

Zoro went to bed happy. Happier than he'd been in a long time.

Two weeks passed by the two in a rush of happiness. There were many make out sessions and times where the two were content to have Zoro hold Luffy. They hung out in the cave a lot and even watched a movie in there, though it was only Zoro's phone on a makeshift stand, but it was pleasant anyway.

Zoro's parents caught him "talking to himself" once, forcing Zoro to wear a headset when Luffy was over and his parent were home to make it look like he was talking while playing online after the incident. He didn't need his parents getting on his case if they thought their son was crazy. God that'd be inconvenient

The two held hands wherever they went, even when they were in public while walking from Luffy's home to Zoro's and vice versa. Zoro didn't care. He didn't know any of these people anyway.

These moments made Luffy feel special and important, feelings he hadn't felt since he had died. Then the fire happened and ruined Luffy's happiness.


	5. Wildfire

**Last chapter was some fun and cute fluff, but now we get into some drama and hopefully suspense (did I make it suspenseful?) Enjoy~**

It was night time, close to sunrise, when Luffy was watching all the bears. It was an area very far from the entrance. The park was huge, and this area was quite far away from the town. It had taken hours for him and Zoro to get up here, but it didn't take that long when it was just Luffy. There was still more of the park beyond this, but it was mostly rocks, mountains and cliffs that he knew of since he'd never been up there.

There was orange on the horizon, lighting up the sky, behind Luffy. He assumed it was the sun coming up and continued to watch the bears play and try to catch fish. Then he smelled smoke. Strongly. He looked back behind him and heard a roaring sound. A sound he'd heard once before, over two decades ago. He got up and started to panic. It was a fire. And it was windy today. He started screaming at the bears to run, but they didn't hear him. What got them to run was the smell of the smoke like Luffy.

Luffy ran down the steep rocks that he had climbed up, followed by the hoard of bears. He kept running, tripping over logs and roots in his panic stricken fleeing. Soon he saw deer run ahead of him, with a ton of birds flying away from the fire above him and the animals. Squirrels made noises as they jumped through the branches past Luffy, who was slow in comparison to the animals. Soon there was even a mountain lion running alongside Luffy.

Luffy was only afraid of the fire because, even though he didn't catch on fire and leave permanent damage, he'd learned the hard way that it hurt in the same way going through people felt, only instead of the feeling of ice, it was hot and much more painful.

The fire was following behind them fast, the wind speeding it up. Luffy couldn't think about the fact his precious home was burning. He could hear sirens in the distance, but the fire was fast and big.

He only started to cry when he passed the huge trees he played and relaxed on. They were going to burn. They had been around a long time. It would take thousands of years for any tree in this park to grow that large.

Luffy continued to sprint as tears streamed down his face. There was still a long way to go before he could get out of the park. His park was going to burn behind him as he ran. His home was going to be decimated, and he'd not have anywhere else to go.

Zoro was just waking up when he saw the light in the sky. Just as Luffy had, he thought it was sunrise, until he noticed the pillars of smoke rise in the sky. He gasped and threw clothes on, taking a scarf with him to wrap around his face. He ran in the direction of the fire, positive it was coming from the park, where Luffy was.  _Luffy, please be okay!_

He sprinted down the street and ignored the sirens and wrapped the scarf around his nose and mouth once the smell of smoke got stronger. The wind was insane. He was having trouble just walking straight it was so strong. He got to the park entrance and was almost blinded by the smoke. He knew this was a bad place to stay, but if Luffy was trying to get out of the smoke and fire, he'd run here.

Luffy continued to trip over everything stationary in his way. The smoke wasn't helping him see where he was going. It was being blown downhill from the wind and the fire wasn't too far behind. Most of the park's wildlife had passed him, but every now and again, he'd see a bunny, terrified and jumping as fast as it could. If Luffy could touch it, he'd have picked it up and ran with it. He even saw a house cat running ahead of him.

His tears were stinging his eyes, but the smoke couldn't bother them or make it hard for him to breathe, thank goodness for that. Luffy finally made it down the trail and stumbled out onto the paved road. It was easier to run on a flat surface, but he still couldn't see from the thick smoke so had trouble even finding out the direction he was supposed to go. The only thing Luffy could do to run straight was listen to the roar of the fire behind him. It was soon behind him on to the left, still in the natural trails and plant life, and then passed him. He had to stop once it began to jump across to the other side. He was now surrounded on all sides.

There was no other choice but to run through the path of fire. He took a shuddering breath and ran as fast as he could through the flames. He screamed in pain as it went through him, feeling like he was being burned alive though the flames couldn't physically harm him. He screamed in pain as he continued to run forward.

Zoro freaked out once a hoard of bears and deer ran right past him, going into the parking lot and then the street behind him to get away from the flames. But they paid no attention to him, as did the mountain lion that sprinted past him. Zoro could hear cars swerving to not hit the fleeing wildlife.

Birds followed, then squirrels and a few desperate bunnies. Then nothing else came. No Luffy. But he heard a scream, and he froze in fear because it was obvious who the scream belonged to. He heard sobbing flee right past him, Zoro not being seen through the smoke. The teen saw some bluish smoke and knew it was from Luffy's glow. He couldn't call out Luffy's name as the smoke choked him through the scarf. He held his breath and sprinted faster than he ever had to get away from the smoke and fire. And to get to Luffy.

Luffy was in unbearable pain. He finally made it to the entrance of the park and kept running until he was clear of the smoke, which was the parking lot, a bit protected by the smoke from the large bathroom building. He collapsed as the burning sensation continued to plague him. He turned around, still sitting, to see tall flames spread across the landscape and the air was thick with smoke. He continued to sobb as he watched his home and sanctuary for fifty years burn. He heard cars swerving and people screaming as animals ran through the streets. He hoped the bears and mountain lion wouldn't be shot just because they were scared of the fire.

Luffy heard sirens. He was angry. It had spread so fast that the firefighters couldn't come in time, but he was still mad because all of the park down from the tallest part was in flames. But he couldn't look away, even though it was upsetting him greatly. He continued to cry, not even bothering wiping his eyes because no one was there to see him. He wished Zoro was there.

Zoro ran towards the sobbing and saw Luffy on the ground as he got clear of the thickest part of the smoke. Luffy was sobbing as he watched the park burn. Zoro ran to him and before Luffy even seemed to process that there was another person there, he kneeled and held Luffy, who screamed at the contact. Zoro let him go in panic.

"Luffy, are you hurt?" he asked, but Luffy was inconsolable. He continued to sob, but the smoke was getting closer and, though Luffy wasn't affected, Zoro was. He gently picked Luffy up, not touching his skin, only his clothes, and began the swiftly walk to them home. Luffy's cries were heartbreaking to Zoro. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Ash was raining down on them, making little piles of black on Zoro's head and shoulders. He coughed as his throat felt raw from the smoke. He must have looked strange in the position he was, holding the air, but no one noticed since all the attention was on the fire. It seemed contained in the park for now, not reaching the houses across the street, though the smoke did. Zoro could only imagine how Luffy must have felt. His sanctuary was burning away into ash. Most of his memories from after his death were tied to that place. Zoro honestly didn't know how to comfort his lover.

Luffy had become catatonic as he watched the smoke billow in the distance over Zoro's shoulder. He wanted it to all be a dream, a bad one, but Luffy didn't dream. This was real and his home was gone. He wondered if his cave was still intact. He'd lost the trees, but he couldn't lose the cave.

Zoro was feeling weak from running in the smoke, but Luffy weighed next to nothing, so it was only tiring walking. Zoro's parents were at work, but he didn't know how long they'd be considering the circumstances.

Once again, Zoro had forgoed locking the door; it was amazing he even closed it during his desperate rush. He turned the door handle with difficulty because of Luffy in his arms and kicked the door open,then kicking it shut once the two were inside. Zoro walked up the stairs to his room and sat them both down on the bed,still keeping Luffy in his arms. Zoro sat with him for a long time before Luffy made any sort of movement.

"Hey," Zoro said softly. "Are you hurt?" Luffy shook his head. The burning sensation was gone. Luffy's face contorted in misery when he thought of the fire, but he didn't cry. Zoro pulled Luffy against himself closer and rubbed his back soothingly. "It didn't look like the whole park burned. I saw the cliffs in the distance and they weren't on fire."

"No, it didn't get the whole park… just all my favorite places," Luffy said and buried his face in Zoro's chest and tried not to cry. The creek was probably disgusting, thick and black with ash. "There was a fire twenty years ago… but it wasn't this bad. It got only some of the lower part of the park because there was no wind and the firefighters got to the scene quickly. It took a long time for the trees to grow back. But those really big ones won't come back. At least not until a couple thousand years from now. I hope I'm not around for that long," Luffy finished sadly.

Though he and Luffy clicked, he didn't know how to comfort the ghost teen. He'd lost everything he'd known for decades. All he could think to do was comfort his physically. He rubbed Luffy's back with one hand and ran his fingers through Luffy's hair. They sat like that for a while. Luffy spoke first.

"Can we watch a movie?" he asked, his voice muffled as he still had his face against Zoro's chest.

"What do you want to watch?" Zoro asked softly, still stroking Luffy's soft black hair. Luffy replied with wanting something happy. Zoro put on Toy Story and settled on the bed, his back against the wall with Luffy curled up in a ball in his lap facing the TV.

"I love you, Zoro," Luffy said suddenly, but softly and quietly.

"I love you, Luffy." Luffy smiled and pulled Zoro's arms and wrapped them around his waist. He could forget about his decimated home, not knowing where to go next, and his sadness as long as he sat with Zoro like this. It got darker out, not just because of the smoke dimming the sky in the distance, but it was getting late. Luffy's glow illuminated the dark bedroom. He noticed Zoro was getting sleepy, so he quietly woke Zoro up and told him to go to bed. Zoro grumbled he wasn't tired, but Luffy made him stand up by trying to push him into laying on his bed on his back. Luffy would have put the covers over the person he loved, but he couldn't touch the sheets, so it was impossible.

Zoro fell asleep quickly; it had been an exhausting day and his throat was still raw. He wondered if he should go to the doctor about it. Zoro didn't know Luffy was planning on leaving during the night to go inspect what was left of his home. There would be less people at the scene during the night, and that's what he wanted. He wanted to be able to mourn his home in private. But, as he stuck his head out through Zoro's window, he saw the park was still burning.

He shouldn't have been surprised about it. Wildfires don't go out that fast. He wondered if some of the city would have to evacuate from the smoke like twenty years ago. They must because this fire was even worse.

Luffy was proven correct when he heard some banging on the front door along with the doorbell. Luffy walked through Zoro's door and to the front door, sticking his head through to the other side to see who it was. A firefighter with a mask on rang the doorbell again. Luffy heard Zoro's dad come down the stairs. He and Zoro's mother had come home a few hours after Zoro and he had started the movie. They hadn't bothered the two, though. Luffy was surprised the family hadn't woken up from all the sirens. He moved to the side once he pulled his head back through the door and inside again.

"Hello sir, due to an imminent wildfire, the smoke is too bad to be safe for the citizens of this area and the fire is not contained yet. You need to evacuate as soon as possible. There are some shelters at this address," the firefighter said quickly as he handed Zoro's father an address and a few masks. He thanked the man, who quickly set off to the next home.

Zoro's dad quickly headed up the stairs to tell his wife and instructed her to pack necessities. He then went to Zoro's room and banged on the door.

Zoro woke up to a banging on his door. He first noticed the room was dark. There was no cool glow from Luffy lighting up the room. He got up and hurried to the door, not sure where Luffy went and afraid he went back to the park. He opened to door to his dad telling him to pack necessities because they were evacuating right now. Zoro nodded, but ran downstairs looking for Luffy. He looked out the windows next to the front door and saw Luffy standing outside, watching the fire lick the sky in the distance. He looked like he was in physical pain by his expression.

Zoro hurried and went upstairs to pack a fresh pair of clothes and his phone charger, along with his toiletries.

He ran back downstairs and before his parents noticed, he opened the front door and called for Luffy. Luffy saw Zoro struggling to hold his breath in all the smoke and ran inside so Zoro could close the door behind him. "We're evacuating," Zoro said quietly, not wanting to alert his parents that he was having a conversation with the air.

"I know," Luffy replied. "A guy just came over and told your dad the smoke was too bad and the fire wasn't contained."

"Come with me," Zoro practically begged. He didn't know how long it would take for him to be able to come back safely and didn't want to leave a grieving Luffy by himself. He frowned when Luffy shook his head no.

"I can't. I can't get in your car anyways. Remember, if it moves it goes right through me. I'd just slip out. And I can't leave when my home is like this. I at least have to watch it go in respect. And I want to see how much is left that wasn't burned," Luffy said sadly. He saw Zoro's upset expression, and added, "I'll be here when you get back. Don't worry, I won't go walking into the fire or anything like that."

Zoro gently grabbed Luffy's hand and kissed it. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise," Zoro said, hugging his lover tightly and kissing his head. Zoro let him go as he heard his dad yelling that it was time to go. The three of them, Zoro and his parents, left through the garage door. Luffy walked through the front door and watched from the lawn as they drove away. He gave Zoro one last smile and lost sight of them when they turned the corner.

Luffy stood there for a few moments before he looked back to the fire. He took a deep breath and headed for the park.


	6. Solitude and Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy's home is still there, but its quickly leaving. How will Luffy handle the stress and boredom after Zoro leaves and he's all alone?

**Some time alone with Luffy. Next chapter is the last one. I think people who like the romance part are going to like it.**

**Enjoy~**

He walked alongside the fire for a while, down the street driving perpendicular to the street. There were only a few real entrances into the park because the sides were dense trees or stacks and walls of rocks. When he ran out of road to walk on, he hiked up the terrain next to the designated park, still perpendicular to the park.

It took over four hours to hike uphill on the rocks to get past the fire. It was like a different world above the fire. Once he climbed and jumped to the side and into the park, he had to climb up a cliff before he could see the whole park below him. Below was full of fire, and the smoke was blocking the view of the city. Behind him, the water was still clear and the plants green. He saw some deer far uphill from him watching the fire. He hoped they hadn't lost any of their family or friends to the flames.

Luffy stood there for a moment, watching the fire rage. He felt he was paying his respects to the dead plants and wildlife. His dead home.

He hadn't gone up this high in years, so he didn't know where the trails lead, but he climbed them up and up and up for hours. He knew no one would be up here, except maybe people who have gone extreme mountain climbing and lived. Some of the things he climbed were sheer drops down, so high you'd die if you fell from it.

Luffy found no more giant trees, not that he expected to. He would have seen them before if there were any more. He found a cave, bigger than his old one, but it wasn't behind a waterfall and the walls didn't glitter when Luffy was inside.

He came across some animals he hadn't seen in a very long time, like the mountain sheep and wolverines running through the underbrush. The area was abundant with wildlife, but they must all be over here to stay away from the fire. Maybe they were on the opposite side and ran away behind the fire.

He tried not to get overwhelmed by the sounds of helicopters desperately trying to put out the blaze. He tried to ignore it as best as he could.

There were so bears up here, but there was no rapids with fish coming through and feeding them. It seemed that the bears ate other animals because he could see one eating with its baby, chewing up a deer carcass.

Luffy wondered why he had never come up this far in the winter. There had to be a lot of snow. He wouldn't be able to play in it, but it would be pretty. How he wished he could interact with things. He hadn't held anything except Zoro's hand in all the time after his untimely death. He missed Zoro already, but he felt he made the right choice in staying. He hoped Zoro was okay and not trapped in a smelly warehouse with a bunch of strangers.

Luffy stayed walking and hiking up the ridges and mountains cropping up now for a couple more hours before it got dark out. He sat on a small rock ledge next to the creek and swung his legs, watching the fire for the rest of the night. It was beautiful, but terrifying at the same time. He was planning on going up higher tomorrow. He decided he wouldn't look back at the fire until he made it to the peak of the first mountain behind the park. Yes, the massive trees were the tallest things in the  _park_  but where he was now wasn't considered the park. Just the rest of the land no one visits because of the dangers accompanying the area.

Luffy continued to climb for the next day, and the next. It took so long because he'd not only go up, but explore around the area, the sides, the forest areas, climb trees, and do random things to stall for time and relieve him of boredom. He'd watch the animals. He wanted to take as long as he could to get to the top, so that maybe the fire would be out by the time he got to the top and looked back. He couldn't smell the smoke up here because the wind was still going, albeit not as forcefully. Thankfully for Luffy, but terrible for the city. The fire was still going downhill, not ruining what was left of the land Luffy loved. He felt selfish thinking like that. Living people and their homes were in danger, and here he was, thankful the fire was lower, closer to the people.

Luffy eventually found the small open lake that was on the flat land close to the peak, where most of the melted snow flows into. The water continuously flowed into the large body of water and out through a thin section of the stream. Luffy walked across the surface and watched as fish swam around in it. If Luffy could swim, he'd swim in this water. It was clear and calm. He could see everything below the surface as he stood on the calm water. It was beautiful. He really did like it up here, but it was a long ways from where the entrance was. And a long ways away from Zoro.

If he had to choose which part he liked more, it'd be the park part and not the mountainous area. But this place was all he had left. He left the lake and climbed higher. Once he reached the peak, he decided he might go down the other side. There were many mountains in the area, stretching over 60 miles. By the time he made it to the end and back, the fire would probably be out. He hoped so. Then he could go inspect the damage and mourne in his own way.

Some might not understand why Luffy was so upset that he'd mourne a piece of land. But this was his home and sanctuary. It was his friend in some way. It was important to him, and when it burned, a huge chunk of his heart broke. Only Zoro kept all of it from crumbling into nothing. Again, he wondered how Zoro was doing. Luffy knew what he was doing was probably much more interesting than whatever his lover was.

Luffy continued to climb until he reached the top on the night of the third day. He looked behind him, dreading what he might see. He sighed and his lower lip trembled as he saw the fire still burning, very small in the distance from where Luffy was standing.  _Maybe if I go all the way and come back, the fire will be out by then…_

He climbed the single tree standing at the peak and looked over what he could see. He could see for miles and miles from that high. It was beautiful. So Luffy dropped from ledge to ledge to the dip between the mountains. He tumbled down near the bottom and landed silently on his butt. There weren't many animals up here. He could only see birds flying around.

It took half a day of climbing slowly and carefully now that his was on a narrow rim to get to the next mountain. If he fell he'd be falling a long time and it'd take forever to get back up here. He even ended up crawling on all fours across the thinnest ledge. Luffy was actually scared and felt great relief when he got to the second mountain. He wasn't looking forward to going back.

He took a long break on the second mountain, getting bored. There were no animals, and it was plain scary to be this high. Even if, when he went back, the fire was still going, he'd just hang out near the creek, watching the animals and waiting.

He decided he was done mountain climbing and wanted off the peaks as fast as possible, but he now had to climb back down a bit and go across the ledge once again.

He became terrified and screamed in fear as he slipped off the thin expanse of land connecting both mountains, holding on by one hand. He was able to pull himself back up, tears in his eyes. He thought he was going to fall. He almost did. He crawled even slower and more carefully now than he had previously. He sighed in great relief once he got off the damn ledge that scared the hell out of him.

Hiking back up wasn't difficult, but he slid down the other side, tumbling over and over until he landed on the lake's surface. He looked down at the park, which was absolutely tiny. There was no more orange glow coming from it, and the smoke was a different shade now. The fire had gone out.

The rest of the way, Luffy was dangerously reckless and would have hurt himself badly if he could. He jumped off of ledges and didn't care if he tumbled. But he was still high and could fall of the edge again. It didn't take as long to get down than it did to get up since he was jumping and running down as best as he could. He reached the park area in a little under half a day. He braced himself for the damage as he dropped down and onto the end of the road along the park. It was still smoky, but much much less than before since the wind was blowing the smoke away, to the poor residents of the city.

Luffy was able to get into the park easily since it was no longer burning and the trees were skinny after they burned. He squeezed between them, and walked onto a trail, the grass and leaves on the ground non-existent anymore. He sadly touched a tree, but was surprised when his glow stuck to the tree. He watched in shock and wonder as the tree expanded and grew its leaves back as the glow covered it. In under five minutes, the tree was healthy again. Luffy looked at his hand. It looked normal… what happened?

He touched another tree and watched it happen again. He smiled, and not really caring anymore about how it worked, touched every tree he came across. It looked truly magical. But he couldn't get the leaves and foliage back since they were intangible to him and were mostly gone. Luffy continued to bring the trees back to life, smiling as he did so. He was going to save what he could of his home. Bushes and grass would have to grow back on their own.

Helicopters flew over the park, showing the visible damage through the smoke. The cameraman turned the camera around, getting as wide a view of the destruction as he could. He then suddenly shouted in surprise.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, getting a stern look from the reporter. They were still airing. "Look!" he shouted at the woman. Her eyes widened and she began to report what they were seeing, not being able to explain the phenomenon but saying the trees were coming back to life.

They were quickly losing the view of the ground as green leaves bloomed, blocking the view of the magical-like miracle.

Zoro watched the TV playing the news at the shelter and smirked.  _Looks like you can do more than glow and walk through things… Luffy._

When Luffy finally got to the massive trees, he put both hands on the trunk as his glow encompassed the charred wood. He watched with tears of happiness in his eyes as his favorite trees were brought back from the dead. Even the branches that were burned into non-existence grew back to how they were before. He continued on the wave of rejuvenated trees as he ran down the trails. Though there was nothing he could do for the water that was probably really damaged. He hoped time and people trying to fix it could save the water. He'd miss his waterfall. But even if it took a couple years, he'd be around here for probably much longer than that.

After hours and hours and  _hours_  of fixing up the thousands of trees, he finally reached the entrance of the park. He looked behind him after fixing his tree out on the now brown lawn, reveling in the sight of the park looking almost exactly the same as it was before. You could see the empty ground with no leaves or foliage, but the park with still bathed in the green and brown of the living trees. After looking at what he had accomplished for a while, he ran through the park to his massive trees and climbed swiftly.

When he reached the top branch, he looked over what he had done and started to cry in relief. He had seen his cave, charred on the outside, and behind the gunky waterfall, but it was still there and once the water was cleaned, it'd be as good as new. He sat there for a long time, relaxing. It had actually been a bit tiring to fix up the trees.

The only solution to the mystery he could think of was that maybe his glow did more than just illuminate things around him. What if  _that_ was the reason he was still around. If it was keeping him still "living", then why would there be a reason it couldn't help other dead things? He now appreciated the glow immensely.


	7. Vows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, get ready for fluff and some brief naughtiness.

**I really like this chapter cause it has some heartfelt fluff. This is the chapter that made the fic rated M. Not graphic or anything, just talk about and imply sexual stuff.**

**Enjoy the last chapter~**

**REVIEW PLEASE**

A couple days passed until the smoke was clear and people whose houses weren't damaged got to come back. The park was packed with people wanting to see the rejuvenated trees with their own eyes. Luffy watched from his trees as the people explored the trails. He was proud of himself, even if no one would ever know he was the one who'd done it. Well, everyone except one. He missed Zoro. It had been eight days. Eight long days of being alone. He was so depressed for most of those days, but now he was back to his happy self and wanted to be with Zoro again.

He jumped off the tree laughing and hit the ground neatly and quietly. He ran down the thin trails people don't usually go on, and ran to Zoro's house, dodging the curious people so he didn't walk through any of them.

He reached the house and saw the car wasn't home, but Zoro's bedroom window was open.

"Zoro!" he called from a branch on the tree in the middle of the lawn. Luffy saw Zoro look out of the window and grin before he ran down the stairs and opened the front door, beaming. Luffy launched off of the tree and into Zoro's arms, giggling happily. Zoro grabbed Luffy under the thighs and pulled him up into his arms against his chest. Luffy snuggled his face in to his lover's chest and continued to smile as Zoro walked them inside and up the stairs to his bedroom.

Zoro tossed Luffy onto the bed, who landed without making any depression into the mattress. Zoro sat across from him.

"I saw on the news. The trees being fixed. I knew it was you. How did you do it?" Zoro asked, dying with curiosity.

"I don't know! I touched the tree and my glow fixed it. But I think I came up with a possible solution," Luffy said, seeing Zoro was eager to hear the rest of the story. "What if the glow is what's keeping me around? And if can keep someone dead in the world after his death, why couldn't it be transferred to other living things?"

"That's a good solution. It makes sense. But why are the tree's visible? When you got back to life and the glow surrounded you, your were invisible," Zoro said. He grinned. "You are the most interesting person I've ever met, Luffy. Not just because you've died but are still here."

Luffy scooched over to Zoro until he was able to get in his lap, the two chest to chest. "I missed you," Luffy mumbled, nuzzling his head into Zoro's chest. Zoro wrapped his arms tightly around his lover and said he'd missed Luffy too.

"What did you do before you turned into a god?" he asked, making Luffy giggle.

"I climbed the mountains for a couple days," Luffy replied, like it was nothing.

"You climbed the mountains?! Why did it take so long?"

"I kept stopping and looking around. I don't think anyone is able to climb up that. It was crazy steep and rocky. Then I almost fell off the top of the mountain. There's a really pretty lake near the top. I wish I could have swam in it," Luffy said with a slight pout. Zoro smiled and kissed the top of Luffy's head. "What did you do?" Luffy questioned.

"I stayed in a stinky warehouse for the first four days and then got so bored and tired of the smell and noise I stayed in the car for the rest of the time. Man, everyone was getting mad at me for opening the door so much and exposing everyone else to the smoke," Zoro said wistfully, like it was a nice memory, being yelled at.

"Zoro's mean," Luffy said, obviously joking.

"Well Luffy's mean for not coming with me," Zoro countered.

"Hey if I had gone with you, the park would still be dead. Besides, it made you miss me more. I'm okay with that," Luffy said with a giggle, making Zoro make a  _tch_  sound.

Zoro suddenly pulled Luffy a bit away from his chest by the shoulders and kissed the ghost boy forcefully. Luffy returned the kiss just as forcefully as Zoro. He was glad he had actually figured out how to kiss properly. Zoro pushed Luffy down under him and showered his face with kisses, moving down to his jaw and sucking on the skin. Luffy gulped nervously because he knew what Zoro wanted to do wouldn't work. But he let Zoro kiss him because it felt nice.

Zoro was holding himself up above Luffy with his forearms and touched the sides of Luffy's face gently and lovingly.

"I love you, you silly ghost boy," he whispered.

"I love you, you crazy man who hallucinates about kissing a ghost boy," Luffy replied jokingly. Zoro went back to kissing him roughly. Luffy really didn't want to tell him because Zoro was getting so into it. But he had to once Zoro reached for the hem of Luffy's shirt.

"We can't do this," Luffy whispered sadly. Zoro took it personally.

"Why?" he asked, seeming offended.

"It's not personal. Try taking my shirt off. You'll see," Luffy told him. Zoro frowned and started to pull at the shirt, but it was stuck. It wasn't stuck on any part of Luffy's body, but it just wouldn't come up past Luffy's navel. "I can't take my clothes off... I'm sorry," Luffy said.

Zoro frowned but went back to hover over Luffy. "Why are you apologizing?" Zoro asked in a whisper.

"Because you can't be in a normal relationship with me," Luffy replied just as softly.

"Say's who?" Zoro asked forcefully. "It's not like you died on purpose. I'd rather never have sex with you than not be with you," he said bluntly, making Luffy look to the side in embarrassment to Zoro's blatant wording.

"But you can't take me out in public, or introduce me to anyone. Or grow old with me and do normal things with me," Luffy explained seriously. "We can't sleep in the same bed, or share meals. I can't even pick up the remote to the TV."

"I don't give a shit if you can't do those things. I love you, and even if some things were difficult, I wouldn't mind as long as it's difficult with  _you_ ," Zoro said seriously, running his hand through Luffy's hair. "And I don't care if I'm thirty and still with you. No one can judge because it's not like they can tell I'm with someone who looks like a teenager. And besides, you're technically much older than me, you old man," Zoro finished with a smile.

Luffy had one tear of happiness and relief slide down his face. Zoro kissed it away.

"Do you enjoy being with me?" Zoro asked. Luffy nodded and grinned, bringing a smile to Zoro's lips.

"And Luffy, we can do other things besides sex," he whispered in Luffy's ear. Luffy swallowed nervously.

"But I can't take my clothes off," Luffy said, confused about what Zoro was talking about. Zoro experimentally ran his hands under Luffy's shirt, not to pull it off, but to touch Luffy's chest underneath the permanent clothing. It worked! Zoro ran his hands across Luffy's velvety soft torso and up to his neck, then back down.

Zoro then sat up and scooched closer to the edge of the bed. He ran his one of his hands under Luffy's shorts leg and up to his thighs. "Just because I can't see it, doesn't mean I can't do it," Zoro said with a smirk. He grabbed Luffy's butt, on the outside of his boxers, making the smaller gasp. His face felt hot, but it didn't show. He bit his lips, nervous. Zoro then pulled his arm out of Luffy's shorts from the bottom and moved to Luffy's waist, sliding his hand down Luffy's shorts from the top. Luffy gasped, feeling extremely embarrassed. He was very aroused, a feeling he didn't ever remember feeling. It felt good, but weird at the same time. He was really tingly in certain places.

"Do you want me to demonstrate?" Zoro asked, trying to sound as sexy as he could. He didn't want to make Luffy uncomfortable, though.

"What are you going to do?" Luffy asked, biting his lip, unexpectedly excited to feel something new.

"I could use my hand up top, or my fingers down bottom," he said. He didn't want to say outloud what he wanted to do because that would spoil the surprise. Luffy  _seemed_ to know how men had sex, since he had mentioned it before.

"Um… you choose," Luffy said, his voice shaking a little. Zoro smirked.

"Downstairs it is then." He got up from the bed and went to his desk and got a bottle of lotion. He coated his fingers with it, instructing Luffy it would probably feel weird at first, but would feel really good later. Luffy nodded in permission.

The two had fun playing and exploring with their bodies for the next two hours, Luffy learning and eventually taking part and leading as well. He was relieved that he didn't have to have his clothes off for the two to have fun. He had never thought that it could work like this with his clothes on. He even didn't have to show himself and feel embarrassed and insecure. Not that he thought Zoro would judge, but he didn't want to show himself anyway. Zoro didn't seem to be uncomfortable being the only one naked at all. Luffy loved Zoro so much, even more than before after what they did together.

Afterwards, Zoro pulled Luffy into his arms and the two cuddled on their sides, relaxed even though Luffy was awake and Zoro wasn't. But Luffy didn't care, because he was happy in his lover's arms, conscious or not.

The time seemed to go by fast as Zoro slept and Luffy thought about the future with Zoro. They would stay together for as long as they could. Yes, Luffy knew Zoro would die before him, but he didn't want to think about that and would enjoy the time they had together. Zoro's words had sunk into Luffy's mind. He had never actually thought about how he was older than Zoro. And Zoro loved him, despite the difficulties of a relationship between the dead and the living.

Luffy was safe in Zoro's arms, Luffy's home was safe and healed, and Zoro was happy with him. Today was the best day of his after life, and he assumed nothing could've been better when he was alive, either. He snuggled close with Zoro the rest of the night.

**Tah Dah! I hope you enjoyed it!**


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